Friday, 23 December 2016

Today we thought we'd bring you the disembodied, yet Christmassy head of our social media brother, @OrkneyLibrary on his last ever day of working here.

Sob....

...but then we decided to give him some bodies after all...

Stewart's shift ends at 1pm today (slacker), and so, as he turns in his date stamp, hangs up his key and helps himself from the library till one last time, let us all open the nearest window, crank up the volume and serenade him with this Buck's Fizz classic. Perhaps Storm Barbara will quieten long enough for him to hear it as he stands in the car park, a tear in his eye and that Mavis Riley book he went on about in his arms.

Tuesday, 20 December 2016

In October 2012, Stewart Bain, organised the Crime-writing festival Orcrime, and the Archive staff duly supported this event with an exhibition of crime in Orkney. We hinted here about the adventures of Caleb Isbister, but never told you lovely followers the whole story. Some of the library staff very sportingly agreed to pose for our "Jackie" style photo story. So as we say a fond farewell to Stewart, our great twitterer (who is himself escaping at the end of this week - to a new job), we can hold him forever in our memories pretending to be the dastardly criminal, Caleb Isbister.

In 1807, Caleb Isbister was a very naughty boy...

Would you trust this man?

Caleb, originally from Firth & Stenness, owned a straw-plaiting factory in Caithness and employed Lille Manson to be his manager. Unfortunately he failed to pay her any wages...

"Caleb Isbister, formerly residing at Forster's buildings, London, and lately in Kirkwall stands indebted to the Pursuer - Lille Manson in the sum of one hundred and forty five pounds fifteen shillings and one penny stirling" ﻿﻿
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Whar's me money? - Talk to the hand!

Caleb was arrested and imprisoned while the Kirkwall magistrates tried to recover his debts from the sale of his possessions.

However..."Caleb was incarcerated within the tollbooth of the Burgh of Kirkwall...The magistrates of the said Burgh of Kirkwall disobeying or neglecting the warrant for incarceration or detention, either by themselves or others in their employ allowed such improper latitude and liberty to the said Caleb Isbister as was altogether unwarrantable and at last they permitted him upon the 23rd or 24th day of August last either through connivance or culpable negligence or remissness to leave the prison."
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I'm aff

In other words, they let him escape.

"Caleb Isbister, who broke the Tollbooth of this place in August last and effected his escape thereupon, had been apprehended in London, from whence he was conveyed to Edinburgh."[The cost of retrieving Caleb from London to Edinburgh was £200 - present day value of £6,792.]

Gotcha! You've cost us £200!

The magistrates of Edinburgh then demanded the magistrates of Kirkwall to pay the costs incurred. Kirkwall disagreed. But in court...

"The libel concludes against the defenders [the magistrates of Kirkwall]personally, for payment of several large sums alleged to have been due the pursuers by Caleb Isbister late prisoner in the Tollbooth of Kirkwall."

The Grumpy Magistrates

So the magistrates were forced to pay up. "And the council hereby authorise and empower Provost Traill to draw from Sir William Forbes and Company the sum of Two Hundred pounds Sterling to be applied in payment of Mr Anderson's debursements and in defraying the other expenses"

We have no more records of Caleb Isbister after 1807, but since he could have lived afterwards in Kirkwall, Edinburgh or London, he may turn up in another Archives' records. We know that his parents were Thomas Isbister and Ursula Robertson and that he was christened on 28th Aug 1761. He had four siblings, all younger: a brother Thomas, ch. 9th Sep 1764; a sister Christian, ch. 1770; a brother Robert, ch. 17th May 1772 and another brother John, ch. 9th Jan 1776. The family lived in Firth & Stenness parish.

Wednesday, 14 December 2016

Look at this advert for all sorts of delicious sounding festive foods we found in an early year of The Orcadian... Figs, Citrus fruits, Jordan and Valencia almonds, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cassia buds and, most exotic and enticing of all; macaroni and tapioca...

Fancy goods were available too! Propriety alone prevents us from asking how on earth 'sperm candles' were produced. We would Google it but the Library & Archive firewall would probably explode.

Sunday, 11 December 2016

Ernest Walker Marwick was a prolific writer, historian, folklorist and generally a Very Good Thing as far as Orkney Archive are concerned. We hold over 70 boxes of his writings, research and collections of folklore and use them CONSTANTLY.

Saturday, 10 December 2016

Seasoned readers may remember this image from our Christmas Card in 2010. It is taken from the December 1910 edition of 'The Star' magazine which contains many hand-written and delightfully illustrated Christmas stories. See below for more examples:

Thursday, 8 December 2016

The account book shown above belonged to Patrick Graeme of Graemshall and the entry for 26th December 1781 reads: ' By given for a prize to be played for at the football on Christmas Day'.

This presumably refers to the Holm ba' game which no is no longer played. John Robertson's book Uppies and Doonies describes it thus:

'The sides were the East and West ends of the village and the throw-up took place at the Post Office, the Youth's ba' starting at noon and the men's ba' two hours later. The goals were St Mary's loch at the West End and the old Grain Store at the East end... that there should be a water goal is in the true tradition of the game.

The contests were rough and punishing, and one of my informants who had been present nearly sixty years before, said "they tore the very claes aff yer back".'

Orkney Archive reference: D5/11/7 (this is a closed collection but applications, in writing, can be made via the archives department for consideration of the owners of the collection..)

Sunday, 4 December 2016

Today's Advent archive is an 1805 account taken from the Balfour & Trenabie Collection for three transactions: kelp, a boat of peats and 'brewing Christmas ale for servants and cooking dinners for people.'